How to English Paper Piece – sewing pieces together

How to English paper piece

In this series of blog posts, I’ve talked about start up supplies (what my favorites are) and discussed glue basting (also my favorite). Now that you know how to prepare for sewing, lets get going! In this video, I’ll show you how I sew my paper pieces together once they’re basted. There are many, many ways to accomplish this. I’m showing my favorite methods, in case you haven’t seen them before, in the hopes of inspiring you to try new things!

There are different kinds of stitches you can use to sew the pieces together. My go to is a simple whip stitch, but I’ve heard people rave about the flat back stitch. I tried the flat back stitch, and it wasn’t for me–but you might love it (so def. check it out!).

Sewing the pieces together

To knot…or not?

I’m probably in the minority when I say I don’t tie many knots while I’m EPPing. To start my stitches, I’ll sew a few stitches in place and make sure they’re snug and right on top of each other, rather than knotting. Ending, however, is a different story. I do tend to knot my thread consistently when my thread runs out or I get the the end of a piece and need to break thread. I also prefer to not tie knots in the end of my thread…simply because I’m lazy. After all the EPPing I’ve done, I’m confident my stitches are secure and I’m not too worried about breaking seams or threads coming undone. Find what you like and what works for you and go with it! And don’t let anyone else try to tell you that your way is wrong. I like to share the methods I use, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way. This is your journey, and you’ve got to find your own way.

For the love of EPP

I’m so excited for you to start your EPP journey (or maybe you’re already on it), and I’d love to hear about some of your favorite projects and see what you’ve made! Here are a few of my favorites, and works in progress:

Above is the Letter “Q” I EPPed for Sheri’s blog tour and then made into a small wall hanging with some quilted ghost letters. These letters are so much fun to stitch and incorporate into projects. You can see more of Sheri’s work at Whole Circle Studio.

Trippy Triangles

Above is some of the piecing I did for my Trippy Triangles pattern (soon to be released). I love the modern look of this pattern and it will be one I recreate over and over again with different fabrics.

My never ending scrap buster project

Above is my never ending scrap buster project that I stitch occasionally when I’ve got leftover fabrics. There isn’t a pattern for this one that I’ve sewn–I just drew up some little pieces and cut them out by hand to piece this together on the run. So now that I’ve shown you mine, I’d love to see some of your projects! What are you working on? Or if you’re new to EPP, what are some EPP projects you’ve been eyeing? Drop me a comment or post your project on instagram and tag me @kustomkwilts 🙂 Happy sewing!